Love Me For Me

It began with one of those late Saturday nights. As I was driving home I was fully convinced that getting up the next morning for church was probably not going to happen. But, when Sunday morning came I found myself wide-awake at 9am. I tried to go back to sleep but had no luck. I wrestled for a bit about getting up and heading in to church and finally decided that since I was up I might as well go.

Before I continue you need to know the back-story. My wife and I have a wonderful marriage. There are so many things about our relationship and our life together that are truly amazing. Like all couples we have our moments and I realize that some of those moments are due to my desire for speed and accuracy. I tend to get impatient with my wife when she has not done things in the way I might prefer…if you are married I am sure at some level you can relate. Often when these moments occur I get frustrated and my wife says to me in the middle of that frustration – “babe, why can’t you just love me for me.”

That brings me back to that one Sunday. On that morning the Student ministry was leading our church for the morning. Though I remember a number of things from that morning there was a particular moment that I will never forget. There was this song that Courtney and Shannon sang titled “Love Me for Me,” you may remember it and I am sure you see where this is going. As I sat there listening to the song I began to cry. I am not talking about one tear down the cheek I mean I was really crying. This moment was as powerful as the moment I first acknowledged my need for Jesus. If God loved me like that why would I not love my wife in the same way? As God flashed back to my memory my wife’s words, I recognized how much God loves me and how much I love my wife. I realize that was was the reason God wanted me in church that day.